


Conversations with Charlie

by GinnyK



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: Conversations, Family Bonding, Grandparents & Grandchildren, Missing Scenes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-11 10:56:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4432862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GinnyK/pseuds/GinnyK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A conversation/scene between Charlie and assorted other characters, each centered around an episode.  Will include many different characters as I go along.  </p><p>All stories will fall into the same "universe" as my series "Lights Will Guide You Home"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. We Just Decided To (Charlie/Nancy)

“Will, do me a favor, think before you speak,” I hear Charlie say, rather firmly.  Will’s about to do a panel discussion at Northwestern and Charlie called to give him a pep talk and/or remind him to make the network proud, not cause a firestorm.  “Call me when it’s over.  I’ll see you tomorrow,” Charlie says as he takes a sip of his Bourbon.

He ends the call and tosses his cell phone on the island.  As he drains his glass he gives me a smile. 

“Was he listening?”

“Probably not,” my husband sighs as he crosses the room and stands in front of me.  I brush back his hair and kiss him softly. 

“It will be fine,” I whisper, hoping I sound more convincing than I feel.

“Fat fucking chance,” he mutters.

“Language, Charlie,” I say reflexively as I always do when he drop the f-bomb in our house.  He nods and smiles a little, the same silent apology he always gives.

“I wish I could watch this thing,” he says as he paces around the kitchen. 

“Why?  Will does plenty of these things and you don’t get all riled up about it.  What makes this one different?

“I don’t know.  He’s just…I feel like he’s a ticking time bomb.  He’s got his head up his ass,” Charlie explains as he grabs his glass and heads down the hall.

“His head up his ass is not a new thing,” I point out helpfully.  I can hear Charlie’s big laugh from the den where he’s pouring himself another drink.

“True,” he admits as he comes back into the kitchen. 

“If something happens, you’ll hear about it,” I assure him.  He nods in agreement as he takes a sip of his drink.  “Go outside, get some fresh air,” I suggest.  He’s already getting worked up over the whole thing and it hasn’t even started yet. 

“Okay,” he agrees as he heads for the laundry room to grab a sweatshirt.  Although the day was warm for early April it’s chilly now that the sun went down.

“Leave that,” I say as he reaches for his phone.  He mutters a few choice words and puts the phone back on the island. 

I put on water for tea and start to make a shopping list for the morning.  A cup of tea later, as my head is in the pantry checking out our supply of canned goods, I hear Charlie’s text alert chime.  Once, twice.  I ignore it at first but as I glance at it a few seconds later, it’s vibrating to the point that it’s about to fall off the edge of the island.

Yeah, that’s not a good sign.  I grab it and take a quick look.  Texts from Don, Reese, Leona and a few other names I don’t even recognize.  I glance out the sliding glass door.  Charlie is sitting on the steps of the deck with a cigar and his drink, blissfully unaware the fact that Will just… just…I have no idea what Will just did.  But I’m sure it wasn’t good.  Part of me wants to just let Charlie be, he actually looks relaxed for a change.  But I know that wouldn’t exactly be fair to him.  I take a deep breath and open the door.  He waves over his shoulder but doesn’t turn around.  I sit on the top step and gently put my hands on his shoulders, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

“What happened?” he asks.  After half a century together, he knows me all too well.

“I’m not sure,” I answer as I hand him his phone.  Setting down his drink he takes it with a sigh.  He pulls his glasses out of his shirt pocket.  I stay where I am, offering silent support with my arms around him as he starts to read.  He mutters more than a few choice words which I wisely let slide by.  I can feel him start to get worked up, understandably this time.

By the time he finishes reading the texts the phone is ringing.

“Charlie Skinner,” he barks as he stands up, heading down the 4 steps to the backyard.  I let him go, heading back inside to put on a pot of coffee, I have a feeling we’re both going to need it.

As the coffee maker beeps Charlie heads back into the kitchen.  I hand him a mug of coffee which he takes with a grateful smile. 

He tells me what he knows so far as he leans against the counter and sips his coffee. 

“How bad is it?” I ask.

“I don’t know.  I have to wait to see it.  It’ll be up on the internet in a few minutes, I’m sure,” he mutters as he refills his mug and heads up to his office.  “Come check on me,” he calls over his shoulder as he always does when he goes upstairs to his office. 

I finish my shopping list and prep the coffee maker for the morning before heading upstairs a little before 10.  Charlie’s in his office, feet on the desk, laptop balanced on his knees.   The television is on with the sound muted. He’s got his cell phone tucked between his chin and his shoulder and he’s talking louder than he probably realizes.  He glances in my direction before turning his attention back to the laptop.  I curl up on the couch and pull the afghan over my legs. 

Ten minutes later Charlie hangs up the phone.  By then I’d figured out he was talking to Leona. He tosses the phone aside and pulls his feet down. 

“How bad?” I ask as I hold out my hand to him.  He crosses the room, setting his laptop on the coffee table and curling up next to me. 

“Bad,” he states simply.

“But?” I ask, knowing he’s feeling more than a little conflicted about something. 

“I can’t explain it.  Here, watch this,” he says as he leans over and clicks on a YouTube video.  I set the computer in my lap and start to watch.  Charlie stands up and starts to pace around.  I’m sure he’s already watched this numerous times and watching it again is not going to help the situation.

“I’ll be right back,” says as he starts out the door.

“No more Bourbon,” I call after him.  He stops short at the top of the stairs and turns instead towards the bedroom.  I’m sure muttering under his breath.

I watch the clip and I instantly see why Charlie’s conflicted about the whole thing.  On one hand, it’s the firestorm Charlie asked Will not to start.  But on the other hand, I know my husband, and he’s mighty proud of what Will said.  I restart it to watch it again as I hear Charlie padding down the hallway.  He’s changed into a pair of pajama pants and an ancient AWM t-shirt.  With an exaggerated sigh he curls up next to me.  When the clip ends I set the computer back on the coffee table and prop my feet up, setting a pillow in my lap.  Charlie settles himself down, head on the pillow.

“Well, what do you think?” he asks as he tiredly rubs his eyes.

“I think you’re not sure how to feel about it.  It’s exactly what you asked Will not to do.  And it’s something that’s made you so very proud.”

“Bingo.  I don’t know what to do with Will.  Things have been going downhill for a while, long before this escapade.  He was a ticking time bomb…”

“And now he’s exploded,” I whisper, finishing his thought.

Charlie just nods as he lets out a frustrated breath.  His eyes slide closed as I run my fingers through his silver hair. 

“I think it might be time for a change,” he sighs without opening his eyes.

A change?

What kind of change I think to myself.  A jumble of possibilities come to mind, from firing Will, revamping News Night and possibly the entire ACN lineup, and the one that appeals to me the most, retirement.

“Can you open your eyes,” I whisper as I gently poke him in the chest.  He mutters an apology and opens them.

“It’s time to shake things up at News Night.  Don’s not happy with Will, Elliott’s ready to tackle his own show and Will, well, he’s a sinking ship.”

“And it’s time to right the ship?”

“Rebuild the ship,” Charlie clarifies.  I can almost hear the wheels turning in his head.  He has that look of utter resolution and excitement on his face.  A look I love to see and for as successful as he is, a look I’ve seen far too seldom in our 50 years together.  I think people would be surprised to realize that.  He tends to come across as a larger than life person.  And the Charlie I know and love is far from that man.

He pushes himself to his feet and crosses the room to his desk.  He opens the top drawer and pulls out a scrap of paper.  As he unfolds it as I walk over towards him.   Wordlessly he hands it to me as he sinks into his chair, suddenly looking very tired.

I take it from him, on the paper is a name in his neat, precise script---Mackenzie McHale.

“When did you write that?” I ask as I scoot his chair out a little and sit in his lap.  He wraps his arms around me and kisses my cheek.

“Couple of weeks ago.”

“Will’s going to flip,” I point out, unnecessarily.

“I don’t give a fuck,” Charlie smirks.  “Sorry,” he adds before I scold him for his language.  His phone goes off again and I reluctantly slide from his lap as he reaches for it.  I kiss the top of his head and leave him to deal with the fallout.


	2. New Night 2.0 (Charlie/Mac)

It was almost 10 PM by the time Mac made her way up to Charlie’s office.  He hadn’t summoned her up after the disastrous broadcast but she figured it was only a matter of time.   She was fully prepared to fall on the sword and take full responsibility for everything, even though it had truly been a group effort. 

When she got off the elevator she could see Charlie was at his desk intently looking at his computer.  His ever present glass of bourbon was on the desk next to him.  As she knocked lightly and stepped into the room she could see what was holding his attention, an online poker game.

“Gambling away your retirement?” Mac teased as she plopped down in the chair across from her boss.

“No, I’m actually ahead,” Charlie smirked as he pulled off his reading glasses and reached for his drink.  “For now,” he added with a little laugh.  “What’s up?”

“What’s up?  Did you not watch television between 8 and 9 tonight?” Mac asked her voice rising just a bit.

“Of course I did,” Charlies answered simply as he tugged at his bowtie a little.

“And?”

“Somebody fucked up, or I supposed many, many people fucked up.”

“It was a group effort, that’s for sure,” Mac explained.  “Why haven’t you called me up to yell at me?”

“Because I know you and I knew you’d eventually wander up here.  But not to get yelled at about the broadcast.”

“Wait, what?  You’re not pissed about it?” Mac asked, starting to get rather confused.

“Of course I’m pissed,” Charlie stated as he pushed himself out of his chair to refill his glass.  “Want one?” he asked.

“Please,” Mac responded, not sure where the conversation was headed.  She took the glass Charlie held out to her and clinked it against his in a wordless toast.  “So if I didn’t come up here to get yelled at, why did I come?”

“Probably to ask me if I’d gotten any strange emails today,” Charlie teased lightly as he leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the desk.

“Oh God,” she whispered as she set the glass down and put her head in her hands.  Of course Charlie had gotten the email.  It seemed like the entire population of North America had gotten it.

“Yeah, oh God.  I assume you had an email mishap and you didn’t really plan on sending that email to everyone.”

“Of course that’s what happened,” Mac shrieked as she spilled a bit of her drink.  She jumped up out of her seat and quickly wiped a hand over her skirt.  Charlie just chuckled a little as he grabbed a napkin out of his desk drawer.  Mac wiped off his desk and tossed the napkin in the wastebasket.  She tipped back the glass and drained it.

“Want another?” Charlie asked as he pointed to her now empty glass.  She declined his offer with a small shake of her head.  He put his feet back up on his desk and settled his hands in his lap, waiting.

Mac eventually took a deep breath and started talking.

“People had the wrong impression about Will.  They thought he was an ass,” she began as she brushed her hair out of her eyes.

“I’m not sure that’s the wrong impression,” Charlie snorted.

“I know.  But in the context of our relationship, I was the ass, not Will,” Mac explained.  “I cheated on him.  He was a wonderful man and I threw away our relationship for someone who wasn’t worth it.  I can barely live with what I did to him.  I can’t live with people thinking he cheated on me.”

“And what does Will think about this?”

“We talked about it recently and he was fine with people not knowing the truth. He didn’t care if people thought he was the one who cheated. But I did.  However the email thing was an accident, it really was.”

“I don’t suppose Will believes that,” Charlie guessed.

“I think deep down he does believe it, he knows how technology and I have our differences.”

“True,” Charlie agreed.  “But I think he’s embarrassed by the whole thing.  And I don’t blame him.  My  God, the man is one big ego.  He wants to be larger than life and for one hour a night, he is.  If people know you cheated on the Almighty William Duncan McAvoy, he doesn’t look so almighty. He looks…”

“Human,” Mac whispered.  “Where do we go from here?”

“Professionally, I think you’re doing just fine, tonight’s show notwithstanding.  Personally, I think you both need to decide what you want.”

“I don’t know what I want,” Mac admitted as she swiped at her eyes. 

Charlie handed her his handkerchief.  “It’s clean,” he assured her.  “I know Will doesn’t know what he wants either.”

“So what should I do?” Mac asked.

“Don’t force things.  Let things evolve naturally.  Focus on the show, things will work out.  You’ll see,” Charlie declared as he stood up and moved to lean against the front of the desk, next to Mac. 

Mac eyed him warily.  “Is this the bourbon talking?” she teased.

“Quite possibly.  But it could also be decades worth of experiences and relationships, good and bad.”

“Funny, coming from a man who has been happily married for almost half a century,” Mac teased as she stood up.  She set the handkerchief on the desk and tucked her hair behind her ears.

Charlie stood up straight and put his hands on her shoulders.  “Stop screwing up my show,” he said with a grin and a quick kiss to her forehead.

“Yes, boss,” Mac replied with a kiss to his cheek.

Charlie watched her leave and sent up a silent prayer that things would work out all around.  He gathered his things and headed for the elevator, ready to put to rest another long day.

 


	3. The 112th Congress (Charlie/Chris)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's conversation is with Chris who is Charlie's driver. Chris a very, very minor original character from (It was Almost) The First Time in Forever and When Tragedy Befalls you. So minor I think he's only said about a dozen words...until now.

Election Night, 2010

 

It was almost 2:30 in the morning by the time Will and Charlie left Hang Chew’s.  The rest of the guys, and Sloan, had left the bar about 20 minutes earlier, heading towards cabs and the subway.   Charlie, always the father figure, asked them to make sure Sloan made it home alright.

Once out on the street, Will lit a cigarette, offering one to Charlie, who declined with a shake of his head.  He smoked one cigar a week on Sunday evening and Nancy barely tolerated that.

“You going to stay in the city tonight?” Will asked as he glanced at his watch.

“No, my car’s on the way.  You can go.  I don’t need you to stand here with me,” Charlie teased.

Will laughed, shook the hand of his boss and went to the corner to hail a cab.

**********

While he waited for the car, Charlie texted Nancy to say he was on his way home.  She was sure to be asleep but he always texted when he was on his way home, just one of the things they did to keep in touch with each other during his long days.  As he hit SEND his car pulled to the curb.  He gave a wave to his driver to keep him from getting out of the car.  Even at 2:30 in the morning, and a drink or two past sober he was perfectly capable of opening the door himself.

“Evening Mr. Skinner, or morning I suppose,” Chris teased as Charlie slid in the back seat.

“I suppose morning is correct.  And when are you going to stop calling me “Mr. Skinner?” Charlie teased right back.

“Don’t see that happening any time soon,” Chris replied as he pulled out onto the nearly deserted street.

“What in the world were you doing at Hang Chew’s?  I thought you had better taste than that,” Chris said with a grin, clearly in a teasing mood, even in the wee hours of the morning.

“Not my choice but apparently my staff likes it.  Something about cheap food and liquor.”

“Did you eat some of that cheap food?” Chris asked, glancing at Charlie in the rearview mirror.  “I’m assuming you had the liquor,” he added, knowing his passenger’s fondness for a good drink.

“I ate a little something, not sure what it was though,” Charlie admitted.  “And yes, I had plenty of Bourbon.”

“You want to stop for something to eat?” Chris offered, figuring a little food might be a good idea.

“Sure,” Charlie muttered as he pulled his tie loose, slid it out from under his collar and tucked it into his pocket.

Chris pulled the car in front of a Dunkin Donuts a few minutes later.  Despite Chris’ protests, Charlie got out and went in himself.  He returned 5 minutes later with coffee and two everything bagels with cream cheese.  He slid into the passenger’s seat and handed Chris one of each.

“Thanks,” Chris said as he turned the corner to head out of the city.  “Good job with the coverage tonight.”

“Thanks, did you watch the whole thing?” Charlie asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

“Off and on, the baby was rather fussy tonight,” he said with a smile on his face as he thought about his 6 month old son, Matthew.

“Teething?” Charlie asked as he took a bite of his bagel.

“Probably.  Kelly and I took turns walking him around.  Eventually fell asleep about midnight.”

“So, you’re probably exhausted, sorry for dragging you back out,” Charlie apologized.

“It’s what I’m paid for Mr. Skinner,” Chris reminded Charlie.  “So what’s new?”

“Well, we just had this election,” Charlie smirked as he settled against the door with his coffee and snack.

“Yeah, so I heard, but I can find out about that on the air,” Chris teased.  “How’s the staff?”

Charlie just grinned while he decided where to begin.

“Don and Maggie broke up again,” Charlie deciding to start with them.

“For good?” Chris asked, well informed of their relationship history.

“I doubt it.  I think I saw them together on the steps after we went off the air.  Didn’t really look broken up to me.  I think Jim likes her but he’s too much of a gentleman to do anything until he gets confirmation that things are really over or not, as it were,” Charlie explained with a grin.

“And they could be back together and break up again before that happens,” Chris laughed.

“Exactly.  Sloan is settling into her News Night segment.  I think she’s enjoying the new clothes the designers are sending over for her as much as she likes being on primetime 5 nights a week.”

“Kelly loves her outfits,” Chris said.  “But I don’t think we’ll be buying them any time soon.  Babies are rather expensive,” he added.

“That they are,” Charlie agreed.

“How’s Mac?”

“I think she’s good.  Dating a little, fighting with Will, the usual.  She did an awesome job tonight,” Charlie said proudly with a little twinkle of paternal pride in his voice, one he usually had when he talked about her.  “Elliot had a rough conversation with Don tonight during a commercial break but I think they’ll be fine.  Don needs to settle down a little.”

“Maybe stop breaking up with Maggie?” Chris teased.

“Probably not the worst idea,” Charlie admitted as he finished his bagel and crumbled up the wrapper, tossing it in the now empty bag.  “Don and Jim are tolerating each other.  I think they’d really get along great if they weren’t both so pig headed.”

“Does Don know that Jim has a thing for Maggie?”

“I think he’s oblivious to that.”

Chris just laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Charlie asked.

“Does you staff have any idea you know what’s going on in their personal lives?”

“None.  They think I’m just a crotchety old newsman in a bowtie who doesn’t pay attention to much of the world outside the newsroom.  It’s kind of enjoyable.  I hear things but I don’t have to actually be part of the conversation.  Fly on the wall kind of thing,” Charlie explained.  “Gives us something to talk about on the drive home,” he added.

Chris just gave a little laugh at the explanation.  “I notice you haven’t said much about Will,” he pointed out.

Charlie took a deep breath and looked out the window for a minute.  Chris had known Charlie long enough to realize he was trying to get his thoughts together.

“He’s dating too.  And Mac is much too superficially enthusiastic about it.  And he’s dating women who he would never in a million years spend any daylight hours with.  Way too young and way too…just not right for him.  Serial dating I believe they call it these days.”

“Any chance for Mac and Will?” Chris asked, knowing deep down that was what Charlie secretly wished for.  For all their faults, trials and tribulations he thought they belonged together.

“There’s always hope, I think.  Would be nice if it happened in my lifetime,” Charlie snorted as he rubbed tiredly at his eyes, he’d been up for 20 hours already.  He got quiet for a few minutes as he watched the scenery go by.

“But…” Chris pushed him to talk, knowing full well there was more to the story.

“I have a meeting with Leona Lansing at 10 in the morning.  She texted me well after midnight.  I’m thinking that’s not a good sign.  Could get messy.  She’s not happy with the direction Will is taking the show, I’m guessing.  We’ve lost some viewers and sponsors and I doubt she’s happy about it,” Charlie admitted with a sigh and he sank deeper into his seat, trying to stop fidgeting.

“Hope it goes okay,” Chris said simply.  Charlie wasn’t looking for answers or words of wisdom, he just wanted to ramble a little.  It was part of their routine, one that took place several times a week.  Both he and Chris enjoyed their talks.  It made the drive go by quicker and Chris was more than happy to just let Charlie ramble on.

“Thanks,” smiled Charlie as he tapped his knuckles against the window and crossed and uncrossed his legs a few times.

“You did have decaf right?” Chris asked as he glanced at his jittery passenger.  Charlie just nodded as he let his eyes slide closed.  Chris stopped talking and gave the road his sole attention and a few minutes later he looked over and found Charlie had fallen asleep.  He turned the radio on low and settled in for the final 20 minutes or so to Charlie’s house.

**********

“Mr. Skinner, wake up, you’re home,” Chris said quietly with a gentle nudge to the older man’s shoulder as he pulled into the long driveway of the Skinner home.  Charlie woke with a jerk, rubbing his eyes to get some sense of time and space.  He undid the seatbelt and grabbed the Dunkin Donuts bag as Chris pulled up to the garage.

“I’ll be back at 8:00,” Chris assured him.  “Get some sleep.”

“You too.  Thanks for the chat.”

“My pleasure, as always, Mr. Skinner.  And thanks for the snack,” he added as he picked up the last of his coffee.

Chris waited until he saw Charlie disappear into the house.

Charlie dropped his suit jacket on the bench in the foyer.  He had half a thought to head to the den for a drink but instead he headed up to bed and his sleeping wife.


	4. I Will Try to Fix You (Charlie/Ned and a little Nancy and Katie)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've watched this episode twice this week and I don't remember seeing Charlie at the New Year's Eve party. 
> 
> Here's my explanation of why he wasn't there.
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and comments
> 
> ********

12/31/10

 

“Charlie, Katie and Ned will be here in a little while, you coming down?” Nancy called up the stairs.

“Yeah,” he called back, sounding grumpier than he did an hour ago.  She really couldn't blame him, after all, it was New Year’s Eve and he was supposed to be at the ACN party.  Instead he’d spent the last three days basically in bed with a raging sinus infection and fever.  That morning he’d sworn to himself he was going to pull it together and actually make the party.  That plan ended about noon when he went to get out of bed, got dizzy and nearly took a header into the dresser.  Nancy quickly put an end to his plans and sent him back to bed.  He didn’t have enough energy to argue.

Although Nancy was certainly not happy that Charlie was sick, spending a quiet New Year’s Eve at home was not her idea of a horrible evening.  Well, maybe quiet wasn’t quite right, Ned was going to be there any minute and to say he was excited was an understatement.  Katie called earlier to see if her Dad was still up to having company in the form of a slightly hyper 4 year old who was determined to stay up until midnight.  Apparently Ned even took a nap that afternoon in preparation for his late night.  Nancy hoped to stay up with him, she was sure Charlie would be asleep long before the ball dropped.

Charlie wandered down the stairs a few minutes later.  He’d managed to shower and put on clean flannel pajamas, an improvement over the ratty sweats and ACN hoodie he was wearing earlier in the  day.  He slid onto a stool at the island looking rather pathetic, but in an adorable way Nancy thought to herself. 

“Feel any better?” she asked as she pressed a quick kiss to his forehead to check his temperature.  He was slightly cooler than a few hours earlier but nowhere near normal.

“I don’t know.  A little, I suppose,” he muttered as he clicked on the television.

“Here, drink this,” she said as she handed him a bottle of water.  “You hungry?  I made snacks for Ned.”

“Pigs in a blanket?” he guessed as he attempted to take a deep breath to smell what was in the oven. 

“Of course.  And English muffin pizzas, his favorites.”

“Ice cream and chocolate chip cookies?” Charlie asked with a grin.

“Always,” she replied, just happy he was even thinking about food.  He had been barely staying a step ahead of dehydration and trip to the ER for the past two days.  If he wanted to eat junk food, that was just fine with her.

Charlie took his bottle of water and wandered around the house for a little while.  He eventually threw on his coat and stepped out onto the deck to get a little fresh air.  It was the first time he’d been outside that day.  He didn’t stay out there too long, it was pretty cold, after all it was December 31st.

**********

At 8:00 they heard the front door open and the sounds of little feet in the foyer.  “Poppy, Nana, I’m here,” Ned called as Katie tried to quiet him a little, in case Charlie was sleeping.

“It’s okay, honey, I’m awake,” Charlie called out to his daughter.

Ned barreled into his beloved grandfather’s legs before Charlie barely had a chance to stand up.  Charlie wrapped his arms around Ned and pressed a kiss to the top of his head before smoothing down the bad case of “hat head” the little boy had.

“How you feeling Dad?” Katie asked as she gave her parents a quick hug and kiss each before depositing Ned’s backpack on one of the kitchen chairs.

“Better…a little better,” Charlie clarified as Nancy caught his eye.

“Poppy, what are we going to do, can I stay up until midnight?  I brought my Legos and some movies.  Should I put my pajamas on too?  Are you still sick?”

“Ned, slow down a little so I can actually answer your questions,” Charlie teased as he set Ned on one of the stools and sat down on the other.

“Yes, I’m still a little sick, you should definitely put on your pajamas and I’d love to play Legos.  As for staying up until midnight, you’ll probably have to discuss that with your mom and Nana, I might not be awake at midnight,” Charlie declared, covering all his grandson’s questions.

“Can I take my stuff to your office?” Ned asked as he slid down off the stool, taking the cookie his grandmother held out for him.

“Sure, I’ll come with you,” Charlie offered as he too grabbed a cookie.  They headed up to Charlie’s home office, Ned dropping his backpack on the floor before plopping himself on the couch to take off his shoes.  Charlie took a seat on the coffee table to help him with the stubborn knot in his little Converse sneakers.  While Ned unbuttoned his flannel shirt Charlie unzipped his backpack to find his pajamas.  It became clear to Charlie that Ned had packed his clothes in the bottom and then stuffed in a wide assortment of random things he thought he might need for an evening at his grandparents.  Charlie pulled out books, movies, stuffed animals, a well-worn blanket he’d had since he was very little, a few superhero action figures and finally a pair of footie pajamas with Buzz and Woody.  While Ned changed, Charlie folded his clothes up and put them in a pile on the coffee table.

“Wait, my Legos are downstairs.  Should we play them up here or downstairs?” Ned wondered aloud. 

“Up to you, buddy,” Charlie replied as he ruffled Ned’s hair.

“I think Nana has food downstairs, maybe we should go down there,” Ned decided.

“Sounds like a plan.  You can leave your backpack up here.  Go ahead down, I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Okay, Poppy.”

While Ned headed down Charlie went into the bathroom to take some Advil and antibiotics.  He stopped back in the office to grab Ned’s blanket.

**********

“Poppy, Nana says we can eat in the den,” Ned announced when Charlie came back down a few minutes  later.  “I’m going to dump out the Legos.  I got a new set, 200 pieces,” he said excitedly as he headed into the den where Nancy was setting out their snacks.

“200 pieces?” Charlie groaned in the direction of Katie.

“Sorry Dad,” she smirked as she kissed Charlie’s cheek. “Yikes, you’re warm,” she said as she pressed the back of her hand against his cheek.  “Did you take anything?”

“Just took Advil, I’m fine,” he said without an ounce of conviction in his voice.

“Yeah, not really believing that.  Just say the word and I will take Ned home, promise?”

“Promise,” Charlie said as he held out his pinky to her, just as he had for the better part of 30 years.  Katie hooked her pinky around his and smiled.

**********

“Okay, you boys settled, you need anything?” Nancy asked as she set down a pile of extra napkins on the end table, just in case.

“We’re fine Nana.  Are you and Mommy staying in here?” Ned asked, clearly wanting his grandfather’s undivided attention.

“I think we’ll go have some tea in the kitchen and then maybe go into the sewing room for a while, deal?”

“Deal,” Ned answered with a little grin.

 The “girls” headed for the kitchen and a cup of tea, leaving Charlie and Ned to the rather large pile of Legos.  Thankfully Ned was happy to just play with them freeform as Charlie really didn’t think he had the energy to read any directions or decipher any colorful diagrams.  In between their building Ned all but inhaled half a dozen pigs in a blanket and a mini pizza.  Charlie managed half of a pizza and one hot dog before he realized he might be pressing his luck as he’d had trouble with food staying where it should in the previous 48 hours.

“Poppy….Poppy, can you had me the blue one, it fell on the floor,” Ned said as he pointed towards Charlie’s left foot.

“Sure, buddy,” Charlie answered as he leaned over and quickly realized that wasn’t the best idea.  He managed to hand the Lego to Ned and just sat with his head in his hands for a minute.

Ned, who was rather perceptive for a 4 year old, scrambled up on the couch and gently patted his grandfather’s back.  “Are you going to throw up?” he asked.

“Sure hope not,” Charlie chuckled.  “Go grab me a can of ginger ale out of the fridge.  The green can.”

“With a “g” on it?” Ned guessed proudly.

“That’s right,” Charlie grinned.

While Ned went to the kitchen Charlie managed to curl up in the corner of the couch, relatively sure he wasn’t about to lose what little he’d eaten.  His eyes slid closed for a minute, until he got that unmistakable feeling he was being watched.  He cracked his eyes opened to find both Nancy and Ned watching him.

“What?” he muttered as he levered himself up a little.

“Ned said something about throwing up so I thought I should check up on you,” Nancy chuckled as she carefully moved aside the massive Lego structure and sat down on the coffee table in front of him.  As she did, Ned climbed up on the couch and sat in Charlie’s lap.

“I just leaned over too quickly to pick up a Lego, got a little dizzy, I’m fine,” Charlie assured her.  She eyed him for a minute and was inclined to believe him, he didn’t look too green and he was happy to have Ned curled up with him.

“How about you two just relax and watch a movie?” she suggested.

“Okay.  Can we watch Toy Story?” Ned asked, spying it on the shelf under the television.

“Perfect,” Charlie agreed as he started to move Ned aside so he could put the DVD in.  Nancy waved him off and set them up with the movie, a blanket and a juice box for Ned.  She kissed them both and turned out the overhead light, figuring they might be sound asleep before the movie ended.

“Where are your toys?” Ned asked as they watched.

“Toys? I’m kind of old for toys,” Charlie teased.

“Old toys,” Ned clarified.

“Long gone, except for my old red wagon, which is out in the backyard.  Nana plants flowers in it in the Spring.”

“Cool.  Mom put some of mine in the attic.  Maybe for my little brother,” Ned mentioned casually.

“Little brother?” Charlie asked, knowing full well he would not be having any siblings as Katie had had a horrendous delivery with him and was not able to have more kids.

“My friend Chris has a baby sister, I want a baby brother,” he said simply.  Charlie wasn’t sure how to respond to that but luckily Ned changed his focus to one of the remaining pigs in a blanket.

They settled back in to continue with the movie.  Charlie smiled as Ned sang along to all the songs and recited a good deal of the movie from memory.

“Do my toys talk and move when I leave the room?” Ned asked as he took Charlie’s hand in his and fiddled with his wedding ring.

“I don’t think so.  Although judging by the mess in your room sometimes, it might seem that way,” Charlie teased.

“Poppy,” Ned sighed as he rolled his eyes, a habit he’d learned from his older brother.  “There’s a mean boy at school, his name is Michael but he should be named Sid like him,” Ned said as he pointed to the image of the movie’s “bad boy” on the screen.

“Is he mean to you?” Charlie asked, not even wanting to think about some mean little boy harassing his Ned. 

Ned just shook his head, assuring his grandfather that all was well at The Resurrection Episcopal Day School where he spent his mornings playing and learning.

“I remember,” Charlie muttered in reply.  He was fading fast, despite Ned’s running commentary about the movie and other assorted things.

“I think I want a puppy,” Ned announced as he watched the last scene of the movie.

The only reply he got was the soft snore of his sleeping grandfather. He carefully slipped off the couch, covered Charlie up with the blanket and kiss his hand.  He went off in search of his mom, Nana and more importantly, the cookies.

**********

“Movie over, Ned?” Katie asked as her son padded into the kitchen, dragging his blanket behind him, much like Linus.

“Yeah and Poppy’s asleep.  Can I have ice cream and cookies?” he asked as he climbed up to kneel on the chair next to his mom.

“I think we can arrange that,” Nancy said with a smile as she stood up.

“Is it midnight yet?” he asked with a barely stifled yawn.

“A little over an hour left.  You going to make it,” Katie asked as she kiss his forehead.

Ned thought for a minute.  “I think so, might need some coffee,” he announced with all the seriousness he could muster up. 

All his mother and grandmother could say was “no way”.

While Ned and Katie enjoyed their treat Nancy went to check on her husband.  Charlie was indeed sound asleep with the FBI warning still scrolling on the television.  She turned off the TV and DVD player before perching on the edge of the couch.  She thought about waking Charlie and sending him upstairs but he was sleeping soundly, something he hadn’t done in a few nights.  She pressed a hand to his still warm cheek and he didn’t even stir.

“Dad asleep?” Katie asked when her mom came back in the kitchen.

“Yep, still warm but sleeping comfortably for a nice change,” Nancy announced as she picked up her bowl of ice cream and sat back down at the table where Katie and Ned were finishing their dessert and coloring.

**********

Much to Nancy and Katie’s surprise, Ned was indeed awake at 11:45.  He’d brushed his teeth and was sitting at the table with a few Matchbox cars, playing quietly while they cleaned up the few dishes.

Nancy was setting up the coffee maker when she heard Charlie padding down that hall towards the bathroom.  She stepped out into the hall to make sure he was okay.  She heard him flush and turn on the water so she was satisfied he was fine.

“Woke up just in time,” she said as she smoothed down his messy hair a little.

“Poppy, you’re awake,” Ned exclaimed, a little louder that he needed to be at a few minutes before midnight.

“I am now,” Charlie teased as he opened the fridge for a drink.  “Go into the den and we can watch the ball drop, I’ll be there in a minute,” he promised.

Three minutes later the four of them were gathered in front of the television watching the live shot from Times Square.  Ned and Charlie were curled up together in the recliner under Ned’s blanket while Nancy and Katie curled up on the couch together.

“10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1,” they yelled as the ball dropped, confetti fluttered to the ground and the Crossroads of the World erupted in celebration.

There were kisses all around as well as a protest from Ned when Katie told him it was time to go home.  She gave in quickly and headed home alone, which in all honesty, had been her plan all along.

Nancy sent Charlie and Ned upstairs to get settled while she cleaned up the den and turned out the lights.

************

“Poppy, I’m glad I got to stay up.  But that ball thing was pretty boring,” Ned announced as Charlie tucked him in on the couch in the office, Ned’s favorite place to sleep when he stayed over.

“Yes, it is.  And you’ve figured that out pretty young,” Charlie teased.

“Can we make pancakes in the morning?” Ned asked sleepily as Charlie brushed back his hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“Of course,” Charlie promised, holding out his pinky, just like he did earlier with Katie.  Ned shook his pinky and pulled the blanket up around his ears.

Twenty minutes in to 2011 the “boys” of the house were sound asleep and Nancy was not far behind.

  



	5. Amen (Charlie/Don)

Charlie was last in the long line of staff members snaking through the bullpen, ready to hand a check to Will.  He watched with pride as his youngest, and let’s be honest, poorest staffers all handed over a bit of their own hard earned cash to help the cause.  He knew some of the younger members felt their contributions were merely symbolic but to both he and Will the amount didn’t matter, the gesture showed just how dedicated and generous they were.

He smiled as he noticed someone must have found Rudy on Netflix and was currently streaming it to a few monitors in the bullpen.

When it was his turn he placed his check, which would cover half of what Will had put out, on the desk in silence.  Will just looked at him, tears streaming down his cheeks.  Charlie, leaned over, pressed a kiss to the top of Will’s blond head and turned to leave the office.  Any conversation would have sent both of them into something they would consider rather unmanly.  It had been a long, emotional few days, to say the least.

“Talk to Don,” Will said when Charlie reached the door.  The older man turned around and raised his eyebrows, questioning Will’s statement.  “Trust me,” was the only response he got from Will.

Charlie took a quick look in the bullpen and didn’t see Don.  He asked a few people if they’d seen him but all he got was some version of “haven’t seen him/no idea/try his office”.  After trying Don’s office and finding it dark and empty Charlie took the elevator up to his own office, figuring he would pour himself a much needed drink and text Don.

As he got off the elevator he realized texting Don wouldn’t be necessary.  The EP was sitting on the floor outside his office, arm in a sling, knees pulled up, looking devastated.

“Don,” Charlie whispered as he hadn’t moved at the sound of the elevator arriving at the floor. 

“Hey, Charlie.  Sorry I was just….let me get up….I wanted to,” he trailed off as he attempted to lever himself up off the floor with one arm.  A move that didn’t go so well for him.  Charlie held out a hand to the younger man and pulled him to his feet.  Don started to move towards the elevator when Charlie reached to turn him around and point him in the direction of his office, taking care not to jostle his injured shoulder too much.

“Come in and have a drink,” Charlie said simply as he opened his door and gently propelled Don into the dark room.  He reached and flicked on the light as he pointed towards the nearest chair.  Don all but collapsed in it, landing in a heap with one leg thrown over the arm of the chair.  Charlie stifled a laugh as he walked around the desk to the small antique side table which held his vast collection of liquor.  “Bourbon?” he asked.  Don just gave a “whatever” gesture that lead Charlie to realize this was probably not Don’s first drink of the evening.

“Thanks,” Don muttered as he moved his leg from the arm of the chair and slumped down, trying to find a comfortable position for his throbbing shoulder.

“Good job these last few days,” Charlie said, out of habit more than anything.

Don took a big gulp his drink, choking just a bit as he set it down on the desk.   He shook his head as he glanced up to look at Charlie.  “I sent him down there,” he muttered as he rubbed at his eyes.

Charlie just looked at him for a second, until he realized what he was talking about.  “Elliott?”  Don just nodded.  “Son, he’ll be fine.  Cuts, bruises and a couple of broken ribs, he will recover.  You saw him for yourself.”

“Jesus, Charlie, he could have been killed out there.  I sent him out there and he got the shit beaten out of him with a rock….with a fucking rock,” Don yelled as he stood up, a little too quickly as he swayed just a bit.  He waved Charlie off as the older man started to get out of his chair and come around to the other side of the desk.  Charlie stopped where he was but didn’t return to his seat, he balanced against the edge of the desk.

“He was on an assignment, you wanted him to get something we could use.  There wasn’t much he could learn stuck in his hotel room, so he took your suggestion and went outside.”

“Yeah, it would be fine if it actually happened that way,” Don snorted.  “I basically called him a pussy and taunted him until he went out.”

“I know,” Charlie whispered.

“And you don’t think that was wrong?” Don asked as he reached for his drink.

“It’s not about right or wrong, it’s about the news.  Do you think Elliott would have gone out there if you hadn’t pushed him?”

“Probably,” Don agreed with a sigh.

“Then don’t feel guilty,” Charlie said.

“Easier said than done,” Don muttered as he stood up and walked over to the window.  Charlie let him be for a few minutes, taking advantage of the silence to pour himself another drink.

“And then I wanted to put him on the air,” Don groaned as he kept his gaze out the window.  “Bloody face and all.  What the fuck happened to me?  I used to be a nice guy.”

“You are a nice guy.  What happened when Khalid went missing, what did you do?”

“Went to see Reese, ran into a door.”

“And?” Charlie said as he motioned for him to continue. 

“Did everything I could to try and help get him back,” he admitted as he turned around. 

“And I’m sure gave a sizable check to Will when you realized he was the one who put out the money to get him back.”

Don nodded.

“Everyone’s okay, more or less, there’s an awful lot of slings and bandages out there,” Charlie teased.

Don let out of laugh that quickly turned to a little sob as he slumped back down in the chair.  Charlie handed him a tissue and leaned against the desk in front of him.  Don pulled himself together, wiped his face and stood up with a deep breath.

“You okay now?”

“I will be, I guess.”

“Good, now get out of here,” Charlie said as he took a step towards the door.  Don followed him.  They stopped by the door and regarded each other with a small smile.  “I don’t suppose I can hug you either,” Charlie teased.  And as with Elliott earlier, he kissed Don’s cheek and sent him on his way.  It was Valentine’s Day and Maggie was waiting.

Charlie put the glasses back, packed his bag and headed off to meet Nancy for their own Valentine’s Day celebration.


	6. Bullies (Charlie/Will)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Although this is certainly a stand alone piece, there are a few lines in the this story that make reference to my story "The Robin Hood of Bullying" which can be found here: 
> 
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/3499082

Charlie sat at his desk, feet up, a stack of unread memos in his lap.  He was trying to read them, he really was but about 10 minutes earlier the words and numbers started to swim around the page and the headache he’d been trying to ignore for the last hour or so finally and completely took hold.  He pulled his feet down and rooted around in his desk for some Advil.  After 5 minutes of searching he gave up and hit the intercom.

“Millie, do you have Advil?” he said, with more whining than was really necessary.

“In the little box on your bookshelf, next to the liquor,” came the disembodied voice of his weary secretary.  “And don’t wash it down with Bourbon,” she added for good measure.

“Did Nancy tell you to look after me while she was away?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“Of course,” Millie answered as she ended the call before he could respond.  The door to Charlie’s office was open and she could hear him laughing.

Charlie found the pills and washed them down with a bottle of water Millie had left for him an hour earlier.  She’d also brought him a banana and a corn muffin for breakfast and deflected a call from Reese which led him to believe she was really trying to look out for him.  Nancy must have given her an earful about how she thought he needed to eat better, sleep better and cut down on the Bourbon.  Millie had all but suggested he take a nap the day before.

The buzz of an incoming text brought Charlie back from his thoughts.  He put on his reading glasses and pick up his phone. 

_-you free for lunch?_

Charlie weighed his options, the salad Millie was likely to bring him or real food with Will.  Lunch with Will won, hands down.

- _in my office, bring the burgers._

_-no problem, you supply the booze.  See you in 20._

Millie stuck her head in the office to check on him.  He told her to go take lunch and not to worry about him. 

Charlie leaned back in the chair to close his eyes for a few minutes and hopefully let the Advil kick in before Will got there.

***********

Exactly 20 minutes later Will knocked softly on Charlie’s door and let himself in.  He found his boss standing by the window on his cell phone.  Charlie looked over his shoulder and gave a quick wave as he finished up the call.

“I will, I promise.  I’ll see you tomorrow night. Yes, I will tell him. Love you, sweetie.  Bye.”  He turned around and greeted Will with a smile.  “Nancy says hi.”

“Well, tell her hi back when you see her,” Will said as he set the bag of food on the desk and pulled up a chair.

Charlie poured a couple of drinks while Will unpacked the food from the diner down the street.

“Bacon cheeseburgers with fries and onion rings,” Will announced as he pushed half the food towards Charlie.

“So much better than the salad Millie was planning to get me,” Charlie said as he rolled up his sleeves and dug in.  “With Nancy away she’s taken it upon herself to take care of me,” he explained with a little snort.

“A perk of being single, nobody checking what I’m eating,” Will stated proudly.

“Like Mac doesn’t pay attention to what you eat,” Charlie muttered under his breath.

Will just gave a little glare as he downed most of his drink before starting in on his lunch.  Charlie noticed it but didn’t say anything, it was obvious Will had something to talk about, but like Charlie, if he was pressed he’d shut down completely.

So they ate in comfortable silence for a while.

“So it’s been quite a week around here,” Charlie eventually muttered, hoping to at least start a conversation.

“Yeah, not our finest moments,” Will grunted.

“Not at all, the crap with Sloan and the reactor and then the….”

“I was talking about the two of us, Charlie,” Will clarified.  “We didn’t exactly have our bright shining moments this week.”

“No,” Charlie said as he reached behind him to grab the bottle of Bourbon from the side table. “We were certainly not the model of professional behavior this week.  And for that I take full responsibility.  Let’s face it, everyone who screwed up this week took responsibility for their own personal shit storms.  And despite being rightly pissed about many things, in the end I was proud of how we handled things.”

Will just let out a deep breath he didn’t know he had been holding and nodded his head a little before turning his attention back to his food.  “Do you think we’re bullies?” he asked as he picked at his fries.

“What?” Charlie asked, completely thrown by the question.  “Where the hell did that coming from?”

“I saw Dr. Habib yesterday. Well, not Abe, he’s apparently been dead for two years.  I saw his son,” Will started as he took the drink Charlie held out to him.

“The psychiatrist?” Charlie asked, pulling that bit of information out of the recesses of his brain.  Will just nodded.  “How did that go?”

“I don’t know. I just went to get something to help me sleep,” Will started, trying to figure out to explain exactly what happened and how he felt about it.

“Sleeping pills, why didn’t you just go to your regular doctor?” Charlie asked. 

Will just sighed as that was the third time he’d been asked that question in a space of a few hours.

“Cause I didn’t want to talk.  And yes, I realize now that the psychiatrist was bound to ask too many questions too,” Will snorted.  Charlie just chuckled a little before taking another bite of his burger.  “We started chatting and eventually circled around to the fact that I’m a bully, or at least I think maybe I am.  I hate that people are afraid of me.”

“So do I,” Charlie agreed.

“Afraid of you?  You’re a slightly inebriated old man in a bow tie,” Will snorted.

“I can be intimidating,” Charlie insisted.  “Just ask Sloan.”

“You called her ‘girl’ and she went toe to toe with you, could have ripped your head off it she wanted to,” Will helpfully pointed out.  “I don’t think she was intimidated by you, she was mortified at what she’d done.  And she did what she did because I bullied her to into doing it,” he spit out as he pushed his chair back suddenly and stood up.  Charlie let him pace around the room for a minute.

“Yeah, not our finest moments,” Charlie muttered as he finished his lunch and tossed the wrappers in the wastebasket.

“Mac and I had a nice little conversation last night,” Will started, that got Charlie’s undivided attention.  “I asked her if she thought I was a bully.”

“And….” Charlie said, eager to hear the answer.

“She told me she thought I was a bully when it was for the greater good.  To which I muttered that was like being the Robin Hood of bullying,” Will explained.  “Pretty accurate, wouldn’t you say?” Charlie just nodded.  “At the end of the day the fact that I bullied Santorum’s aide was what sent me to Dr. Habib.  That and the fact I couldn’t sleep from the nitrates in the bacon I was eating before bed.”  Charlie just looked at him, having completely lost the thread of the conversation.  “Not important about the bacon,” Will assured him.

“Did you get sleeping pills?” 

“Yeah among other things.  Something for depression and anxiety too.”

“Been there, done that,” Charlie said with a small laugh.  “Sometimes I think I should be taking something too.  I know Nancy would probably agree that would be a good idea.  That and less Bourbon and more sleep,” he added.

Will nodded in agreement as he tossed his garbage away and sat back down to finish the rest of his drink.

“Nice save with the Sloan situation, by the way.”

“Thanks.  As pissed as I was, I know that wasn’t her.  She didn’t do it to be vindictive, she did it for…”

“For the greater good,” Will whispered, completing Charlie’s thought as he held up to glass in a little toast.

“And to make you proud,” Charlie added carefully.  Will nodded in agreement.

“Maybe we’re not bullies, maybe we just have high expectations,” Will muttered, trying to make himself feel better.

“We do, but there are times when I suppose we can be called bullies.  And I don’t think there’s anything that will change that.  It’s just who we are.”

“Yeah,” Will muttered as he pushed the empty glass towards Charlie and stood up to get back to work.

“You going back to therapy?” Charlie asked as Will reached the door.

“Yeah, I think it’s for the best,” Will said with a sad smile.

“Good for you,” Charlie replied as Millie appeared in the doorway.  “I’ll stop by the next rundown, I have a few ideas for tonight.  Thanks for lunch.”

“You’re welcome, I’ll see you in a little while.  Take care of him, Millie,” Will said over his shoulder as he headed for the elevator.

Millie just stood in the doorway, clearly able to pick out the scent of cheeseburgers.  Charlie just gave his best innocent look in reaction to Millie’s disapproving glare as he reached for the phone and waved her out of the room with a grin. 

Although he didn’t see it, she had a little grin on her face as she closed the door behind her.


	7. 5/1 (Charlie/Beau)

4/30/11

Charlie opened the front door for the third time in 10 minutes and stuck his head out into the cool April evening.

“Honey, he’ll be here soon, opening the door repeatedly will not make the car appear in the driveway,” Nancy helpfully pointed out as she chuckled at her husband. 

“Ha, you’re wrong,” Charlie said as Katie’s car appeared at the end of the driveway. Nancy just shook her head and went back inside to take the brownies she’d just made out of the oven.  Charlie grabbed his jacket and stepped out onto the porch, stopping short of walking onto the gravel driveway in his socks. 

“Hey, Poppy,” Beau called as he climbed out of the car with his LL Bean backpack slung over his shoulder.  He gave his grandfather a big hug and as usual, Charlie marveled at how tall and grown up Beau was starting to get.  He had just turned 15, was already past Charlie’s shoulder and seemed to be getting taller by the day.

Katie stepped out of the car and gave her father a big hug and kiss on the cheek.  She went into the house, leaving her Dad and son on the porch. 

Beau dropped his backpack on the lounge chair and curled up on the corner of the swing.  He shoved his hands in the pocket of his ACN hoodie and pulled his feet up.  Charlie took a seat at the other end, zipping up his jacket.

“So buddy, what’s up?  What lead to this last minute request to spend the night?  Not that I mind,” Charlie added.

Beau just shrugged his shoulders, as 15 year old boys were known to do.  “I just needed to get out of the house,” he muttered.  “Ned’s living in this fantasy world where mom and dad are going to get back together and we will all live happily ever after.  He wouldn’t shut up about it earlier and I suppose I wasn’t so nice to him.  Told him to grow up.  He started crying and mom got mad,” Beau admitted as he swiped at his eyes.

“And here we are,” Charlie said, finishing his grandson’s thought.  Beau just nodded.  “Well, Nana and I are glad to have you here.”

“I didn’t think you’d even be home, isn’t that thing tonight, in Washington DC?” Beau asked.

“The Correspondent’s Dinner, or the Nerd Prom as we call it around the office. Yeah, that’s tonight.  I couldn’t bear another one of those.  Been there about 10 years in a row.  I sent Don, Elliot and Sloan.”

Beau’s head shot up at the mention of Sloan’s name.  Charlie laughed a little as Beau turned red.  His grandson seemed to have recently noticed the lovely Ms. Sabbith. 

“So you want to stay over?” Charlie asked, motioning to the backpack.

“If it’s okay with you.”

“Of course it is,” Charlie assured him.

“Did Nana make brownies?” Beau asked hopefully.

“She did.  You want to go check on them?”

Beau nodded and pushed himself out of the swing and picked up the battered plaid backpack at his feet. Charlie followed him in the house, stopping by the den for a glass of bourbon.

Katie left before the brownies were served, she needed to pick Ned up at the neighbor’s house.  She gave her son a quick kiss and thanked her parents for taking him for the night.  Charlie correctly assumed she’d had a conversation with her mother about the events of the day.

Charlie and Beau went into the den with their snacks and drinks.  Charlie settled into the recliner while Beau curled up on the couch.  He turned on the television, settling on the CNN feed of the Correspondent’s Dinner as background noise.  It soon became apparent that Beau was not going to just into a conversation.  And that was fine with Charlie.  They watched the coverage for a little while, making small talk about the guests. 

“So, care to elaborate on what happened today?” Charlie eventually asked.

“Not particularly, but I don’t suppose I’m going to be able to just sit here quietly,” Beau joked. 

“Not a chance,” Charlie said with a wink.

“I’ve decided to be realistic about things.  Mom and Dad are divorced and that’s that.  I know they both love Ned and I, but they don’t love each other.  I’ve accepted that fact.  I don’t like it, it sucks, but that’s the way it is,” he stated simply, looking to see if his choice of language was going to get a reaction from his grandfather.  It didn’t.

“It’s taken you a while to realize all that,” Charlie said carefully.  “I think it shows how mature you’ve become.”

“Thanks,” Beau whispered.  “But I wish Ned could understand it,” he sighed.

“Beau, he’s 4.  This has been going on for half his life.  He’ll adjust, he’s resilient, I’m sure of that.”

“I just don’t want to see him get hurt.  And I know, I hurt him today.  I’m not proud of that fact,” Beau admitted as he finished his hot chocolate and wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his sweatshirt.  Charlie just laughed at the action.

“You two need to stick together and help each other,” Charlie reminded him as he stood up to get a refill.  As he did, Beau headed for the kitchen to get another brownie.  “Get me one too,” Charlie called over his shoulder.

“Have you seen your Dad recently?” Charlie asked as he wandered in to see what was taking Beau so long to cut some brownies.  He got his answer as Beau was hunting through the drawer for the ice cream scoop.  He opened the dishwasher and pulled out the needed utensil.

“Thanks,” Beau muttered as he motioned toward Charlie and then the ice cream.  Charlie declined with a shake of the head, two brownies and a couple of glasses of bourbon was enough for him.  “I saw Dad last weekend.  It was okay, I suppose.  I think he tries to buy our love,” he said quietly.  “And while that doesn’t suck, I know it’s not right,” he added as he pointed to the new Nikes on his feet and the new cell phone on the island.

“No, it’s not right.  And I don’t think your language is all that great either.  But I’m not the one to be complaining about that,” Charlie teased, getting a big laugh from his grandson in return.

“I asked Mom if Dad cheated on her,” Beau mentioned as casually as possible, completely catching Charlie off guard, causing him to choke a little on his drink.

“What did she say?” Charlie asked after wiping his mouth with a napkin, his tone matching Beau’s.

“That Dad had done some things he shouldn’t have done and she wasn’t going to discuss specifics with me.  I think that gave me my answer,” he said quietly.

Charlie sat down on the stool next to him and stole a bite of his ice cream, stalling on how to reply to that.

“You don’t have to say anything, I’m sure I know the truth,” Beau whispered.  Charlie just put his hand on Beau’s shoulder and pulled the boy towards him a little to plant a kiss on his forehead.  He wiped away the little tears threatening to fall from Beau’s eyes.

“Why don’t you clean up our mess and go put your pajamas on. I’ll go up and change too,” Charlie suggested.  Beau nodded in agreement, holding out his fist for a bump as he slid off the stool.  Charlie raised his own fist and quickly bumped Beau’s before quickly leaving the room as he sniffed back a few tears of his own.

Charlie took his time getting his pajamas on and talking to Nancy about the conversation he’d had with their grandson.  As one would imagine, his language was far from something he’d allow Beau to use.

“I don’t know what to do to help him,” Charlie sighed as he pulled a t-shirt on over his head.  Nancy stood between his legs as he sat on the edge of their bed. 

“I know, neither do I.  We just have to be there for him, and for Ned.  Provide a place where they feel safe and loved.  Basically what we’ve been doing for over 15 years,” she replied with a grin as she reached to pull Charlie into a hug.  She pressed a kiss to the top of his head as she felt him take a deep, halting breath and mutter some choice words about his ex-son-in-law.  Definitely not words Beau needed to hear. 

“I just want to do something nice for him,” Charlie said as he rubbed at his eyes.  “I have an idea,” he muttered as he pushed himself to his feet, gave Nancy a quick kiss and headed downstairs to find his phone and text Will.

_\--mind if I bring Beau to the party tomorrow?_

Will texted back within a minute.

_\--of course not, would love to have him.  Tell him to bring his guitar._

Charlie texted Katie quickly to make sure it was okay with her as it would be a school night.  She was fine with the plan and even said Beau could miss school if things went too late. 

Beau wasn’t anywhere to be found when Charlie got downstairs, but the sliding door to the deck was cracked open a few inches and Charlie could see him pacing around, the glow of his cell phone giving away his location.  He waved a little as he ended his call.

“Girlfriend?” Charlie teased as he came back in the house.

“No,” Beau snorted as he closed the door behind him.  “I called Ned to apologize and to say “goodnight” to him.”

“Good boy,” Charlie said as he led the two of them to the den.  “Do you have plans for tomorrow night?”

“Plans, on a Sunday night, not really.  Why?”

“How would you like to come with me to Will’s for the News Night anniversary party?  He said he’d love to have you come with your guitar.”

“Really, that would be so cool,” Beau replied with an excitement in his voice that Charlie hadn’t heard in a long time.  “Does mom know?”

“Yep, I checked with her first.  You just need to go home tomorrow after church, do your homework and grab your guitar.”

“Cool.  Can we go out to lunch after church?  I don’t have that much homework.”

“We can but I think we’ll need to invite your brother,” Charlie said, knowing Ned had been annoyed that he wasn’t spending the night too.

“Fine,” Beau agreed.  “Can we watch a movie?”

“Sure.”

Ten minutes later the two of them were on the couch under a throw watching Iron Man.

**********

5/1/11

Charlie was sitting in the conference room alone. He’d told the story of the SCUD missiles and that had bought him some more time.   What he hadn’t planned on was Beau hearing the story. He hadn’t realized that he was sitting in the corner of the room until it was too late.  When everyone had left the room he turned to talk to Beau and explain things more fully, if needed.  But Beau just bolted from the room.  Will waved Charlie off and went to talk to Beau himself.  They’d bonded earlier in the evening over an impromptu jam session with Jim.  Charlie’s account of Beau’s musical abilities didn’t begin to do him justice.  Will was blown away by the boy’s pure talent and unbridled enthusiasm.

Beau came back into the conference room half an hour later with two cans of Coke and some chips he’d found in the kitchen.

“You okay?” Charlie asked as he motioned for Beau to sit down.  The boy nodded as he put the snacks on the table and sat down next to his grandfather.

“You never told me that story.”

“Beau, you’re only 15, there are many, many stories I haven’t told you.  But I suppose it’s time I started to tell you some.  But not now, I think things are about to get moving,” he said as he pointed towards the increased activity in the bullpen.  Beau nodded in agreement.

Twenty minutes later, Charlie and Beau stood in the back of the control room and watched as Will began his broadcast.  Charlie stood behind his grandson with his left arm wrapped across the boy’s chest, pulling him close as they watched history being made.  Beau reached to grab Charlie’s hand, squeezing it tightly as Will ended his introduction and President Obama’s image filled the screen.

**********

5/2/11

It was well after 3 in the morning when Charlie and Beau took the elevator down to the ground floor of the AWM building.  Both were exhausted yet still slightly hyped up on the good news and too much sugar.  They climbed into the waiting car, both sliding into the back seat.

“You most likely just witnessed one of the biggest news stories you’ll see in your lifetime,” Charlie said as he shrugged out of his jacket.  “You’ll never forget this night.”

“I’m sure I won’t ever forget it.  I’m glad I got to witness it with you,” Beau said, leaning against Charlie, resting his head on his beloved grandfather’s shoulder as the car turned the corner to head out of the city. 

Charlie pulled Beau close as he stared out the window, tears streaming down his face as all the emotions of the night came to the surface.


	8. The Black Out-Part 1 (Charlie/Katie)

5/28/11

Charlie felt his phone vibrate in the pocket of his bathrobe and he pulled it out to take a look at who was texting him early on a Saturday morning.

_-Hey Dad, busy?  Can I stop by?  I’ll pick up bagels._

_-How busy did you think was going to be at 9:00 on a Saturday morning?  Did Mom tell you to check up on me?  Are the boys coming over too?_

_-Of course she did.  Boys are with Michael so it’s just us._

_-Give me half an hour to jump in the shower._

_-Okay, see you soon.  Love you._

Charlie tossed the phone on the island and started the coffee maker before heading upstairs for a quick shower.

Twenty five minutes later he headed back downstairs dressed in a pair of plaid shorts and a navy blue polo.  The heat and humidity the weatherman had predicted was taking hold, much to his annoyance.  He had actually been looking forward to spending some time working in the yard.  But with temperatures expected to top 90 degrees, he wasn’t so excited anymore.  Nancy was visiting her sister for the long holiday weekend and he was looking forward to being alone. 

“Dad,” he heard Katie’s voice calling him from the foyer.

“Kitchen,” he called back as he pulled two mugs from the cabinet and got the milk out of the refrigerator.  “Hey sweetheart,” said as his daughter came in the room with a big smile and a bag of bagels.  She set the bag down and gave her Dad a big hug and kiss.

“Long week?” she asked as he gave him a quick once over, taking note that he looked incredibly tired for first thing in the morning.

“More shitty than usual,” he admitted with a sigh.  He turned to pour the coffee while Katie took the bagels out of the bag and grabbed two plates from the cabinet.

She handed him the plate with the poppy seed bagel as he sat down at the island.  Katie gave him a few minutes to eat a little bit of his breakfast before she pressed him for more information about his week.

When Charlie had finished half the bagel he sat back a little on the stool, about ready to talk. 

“So a crappy week?” Katie asked, toning down her Dad’s language a little.

“Had a meeting with Reese yesterday morning.   Apparently we lost a large percentage of our audience last week when we decided not to cover the Casey Anthony trial,” he muttered as he reached for his coffee.

“Ouch.  And I take it Reese is pissed enough to basically tell you to cover the trial,” Katie guessed.

“Bingo.”

“How did that go over?” Katie asked as she stood up to refill their mugs.

“Will reluctantly agreed and surprisingly without much bitching and moaning.  Mac on the other hand, well, it took a while for her to realize I wasn’t kidding and that we were going to have to do the story.  To say she’s unhappy is an understatement.  The rest of the staff isn’t thrilled either but let’s face it, they have bills to pay and they’re not about to stage a revolt.”

“What do you think?” Katie asked.

“Doesn’t matter what the hell I think,” Charlie sighed.  “If we keep on losing viewers Leona will use that as an excuse to fire Will.”

“So you’re stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place,” Katie said as she reached to pat her Dad’s hand.  He just nodded and squeezed her hand and winked.  “When do you start covering it?”

“Tuesday.  Reese graciously gave us the three day weekend to prepare,” Charlie snorted.  “Don’s working on ideas this weekend.  He’s rather good at this shit.  Prince of the Dark Arts, is how he referred to himself last night,” he said with a dry chuckle. 

“Sounds like he may be the only one who sort of enjoys the assignment,” Katie muttered as she picked up the last piece of her bagel.

“Probably.  And let’s not forget the Anthony Weiner uh, weiner.  We’ll have to cover that too I’m sure,” Charlie smirked.

“Please no visuals, no let’s go to the videotape,” Katie teased.

“You can’t possibly make any jokes which haven’t already been made.  Neil and Jim started a running list yesterday afternoon.  It was about 4 pages long by the time the day was over.  Gave us a little break from the Casey Anthony mess.

“You’ll figure it out, you always do,” Katie said with a smile, trying to get her Dad to smile back.  She was rewarded with a small, unconvincing grin.

“So how are the boys?” Charlie asked, a little eager to steer the conversation away from the problems at work.

“They’re good.  Beau is still talking about the party at Will’s and the fact that he was in the control room with you the night we got Bin Laden.  That day really made an impression on him.  And not just the fact that he got to jam with Will and Jim.  Although that might have been the highlight of the whole thing,” Katie clarified with a laugh.  Charlie chuckled a little too as he got up to refill their mugs.

“Will was really impressed by his guitar skills, by the way.  I was glad Beau was there.  It’s an experience he’ll never forget, that’s for sure.  He asked a lot of appropriate questions and genuinely seemed interested in the whole thing.  He’s good kid, Katie, despite on how he might be acting recently,” Charlie pointed out as he handed her the mug.

“I know, Dad.  I’m really trying to remember that when he’s teasing his brother and in general being a pain in the ass.  I know, he’s a 15 year old boy, he’s supposed to be a pain in the ass.”

“How’s Ned doing?” Charlie asked, the very thought of his little grandson bringing a smile to his face.

“Better.  I think he might be starting to realize this is his new reality.  Getting better about going back and forth between my house and his Dad’s place.  Michael’s trying, he really is,” Katie explained, trying very hard to say something positive about her ex-husband.

“Beau asked me if Michael cheated on you,” Charlie said carefully.

“I figured he did,” Katie sighed as she slid off the stool to pace around, habit she’d inherited from Charlie.  “He asked me again.  I don’t think it’s my place to tell him the truth, that his Dad is a…..a”

“Lying, cheating bastard,” Charlie snorted, completing the thought for her.

“Yeah,” Katie chuckled.  “Part of me wants Michael to have to tell him the truth.  But I don’t think he’s willing to do that just yet. As much as Michael hurt me and the boys, he’s still their father and I don’t want to take that away from him.  I think deep down Beau knows the truth. And at 15 he doesn’t need to know specifics.”

“I agree.  And I hate that you and the boys had to go through this,” Charlie whispered as he stood up.  Katie let him pull her into a big hug, one that left her a little teary.  She eventually kissed her Dad’s cheek and wiped her eyes a bit before moving to put their empty plates and mugs in the sink.  “What are your plans for the rest of the day?” she asked as she closed the dishwasher.

“I was going to cut the lawn and pull the dead stuff out of the flowerpots for your Mom, but since we seem to be having a heat wave in May, I’m thinking reading and watching baseball instead.”

“Sounds good.  Stay inside, you don’t need to go out and get yourself overheated.    You want to come over for dinner?  I’m making meatloaf,” she added, knowing her Dad was a huge fan of her meatloaf.

“And macaroni and cheese?” Charlie asked hopefully.

“Of course.  You think Ned would let me serve meatloaf without it?” Katie teased.

“Deal,” Charlie grinned.  “You want me to bring dessert?”

“Sure, you going to bake?” Katie asked, knowing he Dad genuinely did enjoy cooking and baking, he just didn’t have a lot of time to do so.

“I could bake.  It’s not like I’m going outside,” he answered with a sigh.

Katie watched as Charlie paced around the kitchen for a few minutes. She just let him be.  It was clear he had something on his mind, but she also knew that if he wasn’t really ready to talk about it, he would just shut down.  So she busied herself by putting away the dishes in the dish drainer and emptying the grinds from the coffee maker.  Eventually she figured it was time to try and get him to talk about whatever was on his mind.

 “Dad, stop pacing for a minute,” she said quietly as she reached out to grab his hand as he passed by the island.  She held both his hands and took a minute to get a good look at him.  His expression gave absolutely nothing away.  “What’s wrong?” she asked simply.  She got the fully expected shrug of the shoulders.  She just arched a well-groomed eyebrow, letting him know that wasn’t an acceptable answer.

“Maybe I’m too old for this,” Charlie answered and he squeezed her hands before dropping them.  “I’m 70 years old, maybe it’s time to think about retirement.”

Katie just looked at him for a minute.  She knew the word “retirement” hardly ever crossed his mind, let alone passed by his lips.

“I certainly don’t disagree with the idea of retirement, but why now.  You’ve had shitty weeks before.” 

Her use of colorful language got a chuckle from her Dad.

“I know.  Who am I kidding, I’d be bored out of my mind after two weeks and I’d drive your mother crazy,” he snorted as he resumed his pacing.

“You could cut back a little, come home before 10:00, that might be nice,” Katie suggested with a little grin.  She again got the fully expected shrug of her Dad’s shoulders.

“Maybe it was just a bad week.  But I don’t really see things getting better next week,” Charlie muttered, mostly to himself.

“Not with Casey Anthony Weiner dominating the news cycle,” Katie snorted, just mashing up the names for convenience.

Charlie broke out into one of his great big laughs, the first one she’d heard that morning.  He pulled Katie into a big hug, kissing her cheek.  “Thanks, I needed that,” he whispered.

“Okay, so I’ll see you for dinner,” she clarified as she patted his arm before reaching for her tote bag and car keys.

“I’ll be there at 5:00 with dessert,” Charlie promised.

He walked Katie to the door and waved good bye as she headed up the driveway.  Standing outside for all of two minutes was enough to send him back in to the comfort of the central air. 

He puttered around the kitchen, trying to decide what to make for dessert.  Thankfully Nancy kept the pantry well stocked with baking items, the last thing he wanted to do was to run to the grocery store on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.

He mixed up a batch of peanut butter cookies, Beau’s favorite.  While they baked he jotted down a few ideas for mess that was Casey Anthony Weiner. 

He just hoped that at the end of it all, he would still be standing, and in one piece.


	9. The Black Out-Part 2 (Charlie/Millie)

Charlie watched with pride as the members of his ACN team declined the offer to host the Republican Debate.  The fact that they declined the offers with rather colorful language only made the whole incident more satisfying.

He quietly headed back to his office, leaving the News Night team to make plans.  He had a feeling what was going to happen but he wanted the idea, and the execution of it, to be up to the team and the team alone.  He would back them up in the end, as always.

Millie was at her desk when he got back up to his office.  She watched as her boss came off the elevator, head hanging, hands shoved in his pockets.  She’d worked with him for over 10 years and she could read him like a book.  Things had not gone well, it fact by the look of him, not well was an understatement.  She came out from behind her desk with a small smile.

“You need anything Charlie?” she asked as he glanced in her direction as she came up next to him.  She was hoping his answer would be some food, as opposed to his usual bourbon.  She was pretty sure he hadn’t eaten dinner.

“Got any chocolate?” he asked with a little grin as he nudged her with his shoulder.

“Always.  I’ll be right in, sit on the couch and relax for a few minutes,” she said, hoping he might take that suggestion seriously.  He usually didn’t but once in a while he did surprise her.

A minute later she returned with a package of peanut butter cups and a can of Coke.  Surprisingly Charlie was on the couch.  He’d actually taken her suggestion and was stretched out with his feet up. His jacket and shoes were now missing, which surprised her.

“Here, start with these, but I wouldn’t be opposed to finding you some real food too,” she said with a smile as she handed him the candy and soda before turning to leave.

“Thanks.  I’ll let you know.  You don’t have to run, have a seat,” he said as he pointed in the general direction of the nearest chair.

Millie moved a chair from in front of the desk and set it at the end of the couch by Charlie’s feet.  She kicked off her own shoes and propped her feet on the arm of the brown leather couch.  He levered himself up a little in the corner, making it less likely he’d end up with Coke down the front of his shirt.

He finished one peanut butter cup and a big swig of soda before he started talking.

“Thanks for hanging out until the debate thing was over.  I appreciate it,” he said quietly.

“No problem.  Rest of the family had plans tonight anyway.  I wasn’t missing out on anything,” Millie assured him.

Charlie drank a little more soda and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before resuming the conversation.  “So that backfired,” he muttered.

“Kind of figured, since you aren’t down there celebrating with everyone,” Millie replied simply.

“They want the boring ass debate of yesteryear.  Felt the whole idea was intended to make the candidates feel uncomfortable.  I think we could have sold it to Adam Roth but that other guy, Tate Brady, it was never going to happen with him,” Charlie explained with a sigh as he unwrapped the other peanut butter cup.  He held out one half in Millie’s direction.  She took it with a sad little smile.  As he took a bite a little grin came across his face, confusing Millie just a bit.

“What could possibly be funny?” she asked curiously. 

“Tate decided, in the middle of the bullpen, to offer the debate to Don and Elliott, and then Sloan.”

“And they turned him down in spectacular fashion,” Millie guessed.

“Yep,” Charlie said with more than a hint of paternal pride.  “Don answered for himself and Elliott with an “eat me” and Sloan simply said “fuck you”.  Made me proud,” Charlie chuckled.

“I’m sure it did.  Did you tell them that?”

“I did,” he assured her. 

Charlie got quiet for a few minutes as he finished his Coke and stretched back out along the length of the couch.  Millie glanced at the clock, it was almost 7:25.  Even fueled by caffeine and sugar he looked about 5 minutes away from snoring.

“So now what?” Millie asked as she nudged him with her foot a few minutes later, when it was clear he was about 30 seconds away from drifting off.

“Huh,” Charlie muttered as he swiped clumsily at his eyes trying to orient himself a little.  “I imagine Mac is down there throwing out the rundown and will, at any minute, be up here to tell me that.”

Millie just raised her eyebrows at him as she heard the elevator door open.

Charlie snorted triumphantly as he sat up suddenly but stopped short of standing when he realized he got dizzy from moving a little too fast.  Millie leaned forward a little and put a hand on his shoulder, keeping him where he was.  He held up his hand in agreement.

“Charlie!” Mac yelled from the elevator.

“In my office, where the hell else would I be?” he yelled back. Millie just rolled her eyes at him. He took a deep breath and stood up carefully under her watchful eye.

“Can we throw out the rundown?” she asked breathlessly as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

“Mac, it is 7:35, haven’t you already made that decision?” Charlie teased.

“Yes, of course we did.  And in the middle of running around to plan things I realized I forgot to tell you,” she explained bouncing in her heels and wringing her hands.

“It’s what I expected.  I don’t give a fuck what happens next,” he said as he sat back down to slip on his shoes.

“Thank you,” Mac said with a big grin.  She turned to leave and when she got to the doorway she turned around, walked back to Charlie and pressed a quick kiss to the top of his head before literally running for the elevator.

Millie had been standing by Charlie’s desk watching the whole exchange with thinly veiled amusement.  She’d long admired the relationship Charlie had with his staff.  Stern when called for and paternal the rest of the time, which in truth was most of the time.  He loved all of them dearly and she was sure they felt the same way.

She knew she did.

“Millie….Millie, you spaced out a little.”

She laughed and looked up to see Charlie grinning at her.  She grabbed his jacket off the desk and held it out to him.  He slipped his arms in and turned around.   Millie straightened his tie a little and gave him a big smile.

“Thank you,” he whispered as he took her by the shoulders and gently kissed her cheek.

“For what, plying you with junk food and caffeine?” she teased.

“For caring,” he said simply.  “And by the way, I wouldn’t be opposed to a sandwich if you can round one up.”

“I’m sure I can find you something,” she assured him.

“Great.  I’ll be in the bullpen or the control room.  Come on down and join us.  You’re hardly ever around by the time News Night starts.  Hang out for a while,” Charlie offered as he headed for the door.

“I will.  I’ll be back with something that resembles real food.”

Millie watched as Charlie left the room with just a little spring in his step that hadn’t been there less than an hour earlier.  It was nice to see.

*********

Millie managed to snag a turkey sandwich from the kitchen, leftovers from whatever had been ordered for dinner hours earlier.  She grabbed a bag of chips and a bottle of iced tea too.  About as healthy a meal as was possible without actually leaving the building and going out for food.  Since Charlie hadn’t eaten anything for dinner earlier, she was sure he’d be just fine with whatever she got for him.  He wasn’t exactly picky about what he ate.

She headed over to the control room, knocking gently on the door before entering.  She wasn’t exactly comfortable in there but it always exciting to be in the nerve center of the broadcast.  Mac waved her in with a smile.  She handed Charlie the sandwich and put the rest on the counter at the back of the room. 

As the broadcast started she stood in the back of the room quietly taking it all in.  She watched as Mac led Will through the broadcast by the seat of his pants.  Sloan talked about the debt ceiling, practically without Will’s questions.  Maggie ran in and out of the room, passing slips of paper to Mac and talking quietly to Jim.  In the middle of the controlled chaos was Charlie.  He stood next to Mac, headset on intently watching Will both on the monitor and through the window to the studio.  Beaming with pride he was clearly enjoying the show, giving no regard to what lie ahead.

When the broadcast was over the room erupted in cheers and high fives.  The group spilled out into the studio and gather around the anchor desk. Someone had brought in a bottle of liquor and some plastic cups.  Will poured and Mac passed the drinks around.

Charlie quieted them all down and gathered them around.

“I know today didn’t exactly go as planned.  But I’m proud of all of you.  The months of work you put in on the mock debate showed just how dedicated you all are to doing the news and doing it well.  We’ve had to put up with a lot of crap these last few weeks, especially Casey Anthony Weiner,” he snorted, using the mash up his daughter Katie had used the previous week.  “Tonight’s show kicked ass and it showed just what we can do on the fly.  Thank you, for everything.  Now, stay, celebrate, hang out, whatever,” he said as he raised his cup.  “To us,” he said simply.

“To us,” the rest of the room chorused as they raised their own drinks in a toast.

As the crowd continued their celebration, Millie snuck out of the studio to head back up to the office to grab her bag.

“Hold that,” Charlie yelled as she was getting on the elevator.  Millie reached her hand out to trip the sensor and stop the elevator doors from sliding closed.

“Have fun?” he asked as he pulled his tie loose and slipped off his jacket.

“I did, thanks again.  You heading home?” she asked, pretty sure the answer was no as Charlie seemed to be getting comfortable.

“I’m going to stay and read some of the stuff Jim gathered about the NSA guy.”

Millie just eyed him with raised eyebrows, letting him know she wasn’t thrilled with that idea.  It was almost 9:30 and he should certainly be heading home to Nancy.

“Nancy’s out with Katie tonight,” he said, by way of explanation. 

“Okay, but if it gets too late, just stay in the city,” she suggested, knowing that would be Nancy’s suggestion too.

Charlie just rolled his eyes a little.  “You know what, you and Nancy are not allowed to talk any more, this mother hen act is getting old,” he teased with a twinkle in his eye.

The elevator chimed and they got off.

“You want me to make some tea before I go,” Millie offered, already knowing the answer to that question but asking as she did most nights he stayed too late.

“Nah, bourbon is fine,” Charlie answered, gaining himself a big eye roll in return as he stepped into his office. It was a little dance they did a few times a week.

Millie shut down her computer and grabbed her bag.  She stuck her head into Charlie’s office to tell him goodnight.  He was already sitting with a glass of bourbon.  His sleeves were rolled up, something he rarely did.  It appeared he was going to be there for a while.

“I’m heading out,” Millie called from the doorway.

“Chris will meet you downstairs,” Charlie said as he gave a little wave.

“Charlie, your driver does not need to take me home,” Millie pointed out.

“He doesn’t need to, but he is anyway,” Charlie teased.

“Thanks, and you tell me I’m the mother hen,” Millie said with a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”  


“Good night and thanks for everything,” Charlie replied as he propped his chin up in his hand, pulled on  his reading glasses and got to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Usually about halfway through rewatching an episode I have a pretty good idea where the story is headed, who Charlie will talk to and the general topic of their conversation.
> 
> I watched this episode twice before I even got an idea. Up until now Millie has only been mentioned in passing few times and we've seen Charlie talking to her on the phone. I don't remember if we ever see her in the show. 
> 
> Originally when I started the chapter Charlie and Millie were only going to chat for a minute until Mac arrived to tell him they were throwing out the rundown. But as I started to write, I kind of liked my version of Millie.
> 
> Hope you did too, thanks for reading.


	10. Sometime between episodes 9 & 10 (Charlie/Lonny)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As soon as I started writing this story I knew the conversation centered around the season finale, The Greater Fool was going to be between Charlie and Will. But then I watched the episode again and the scene at the beginning with Charlie, Mac and Lonny in the Emergency Room led to this, an extra conversation which takes place between the final two episodes of the season.

Mid July 2011

Charlie slammed down the copy of New York magazine, let off a stream of expletives which would have made a sailor blush and pulled his glasses off, tossing them down on the desk.  He stood up and started to pace.  Ten minutes later he had only calmed down enough to stop cursing under his breath.  He had so many things running through his mind he didn’t really know where to start.  So he started where he usually did.

He poured himself a drink.

When he started to read the article, or hatchet job, as Mac was calling it, he thought he was prepared.  She’d already given him the Reader’s Digest version but her description hadn’t begun to describe the article.  What he wanted more than anything was to shove Brian out the nearest window, or under a subway train.

But in the end he settled for taking a deep breath, straightening his tie, finishing his drink and heading down to see Will.

When he got to Will’s office the door was closed and Sloan was all but standing guard outside. 

“Mac in there with him?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah.  I think the yelling and throwing of things has stopped,” she said with a sigh.  He peeked through the glass and saw Will sitting in his chair, head down on the desk.  Mac was perched on the desk next to him, running her fingers through his hair.  He thought better of disturbing them.  It looked like Mac had things under control for the time being.  He would talk to Will later.

The sound of “MC AVOY,” being yelled by Lonny reverberated in the elevator lobby.  He tore through the bullpen and stopped short when he realized the rest of the people there were doing their best to be quiet.  He caught sight of Charlie and Sloan and walked calmly over  to Will’s office.

“Did he ditch you again?” Charlie asked with a barely contained laugh.

“Don’t want to talk about it.  He’s rather stealthy for a huge, barely in shape, middle aged guy,” Lonny said with a snort.

“He’s in with Mac.  We’ll just let them be for a while,” Charlie said.  “I’m sure you all have some work to do,” he said to the room in general as everyone was pretty much standing around, not sure what to do.  “And for the love of God, toss those in a drawer, or the shredder,” he said as he motioned towards the copies of the magazine all around the bullpen.  Everyone scattered, tossing the magazines out of sight and getting back to work.

“If he comes out, tell him to come see me when he’s ready,” Charlie said to Sloan as patted her on the shoulder and motioned for Lonny to come with him.

They ended up on the terrace where they were thankfully alone.

“Have you read it?” Charlie asked as he pulled a chair up to the railing and sank into it, propping his feet on the ledge and rubbing his eyes.

“Unfortunately,” Lonny muttered as he grabbed himself a chair and sat next to Charlie.  “It’s a bunch of bullshit and Will should just ignore it.”

“What do you think the chance of that happening is?” Charlie snorted.

“Not a chance in hell,” Lonny replied simply.

The two men were silent for a few minutes, both trying to imagine how the next few days were going to play out.  Neither had much hope that things would go well.  It was more of a “how badly” would things go.  And who would be standing at the end of it all.

“How’s he been doing?’ Charlie asked.  “I haven’t really talked to him in about a week, well other than about work.”

Lonny thought for a minute about how to answer the question.  There was a fine line between keeping Will’s confidence and alerting Charlie when things seemed to be headed downhill.  He knew Will had told Charlie about his appointments with Dr. Habib and that he’d gone back on meds.  That made conversations a little easier.  Lonny was also pretty sure Will was well aware that he and Charlie talked about how his well-being.  And so far he hadn’t complained about it.

“I don’t know.  Hard to tell.  He’s been pretty quiet.  Believe it or not, he will usually talk to me.  Or more precisely ramble on while I listen.  Basically been counting down the days until the article hit.  Don’t think he’s been sleeping well.  Had some problems with migraines lately.

“And I imagine he is self-medicating those with pain killers and liquor.”

“But at least I don’t think he’s smoking pot,” Lonny said with a wry grin.

“So much for small favors,” muttered Charlie as his text alert went off. 

It was from Mac.

_\--Will and I are going upstairs to the dining room to get something to eat and escape the understandable looks of pity from the rest of the staff.  Assure Lonny we won’t leave the building._

He showed the text to Lonny.

“Good, let him clear his head a little,” Lonny said as he let out a deep breath.  “I guess the best we can do is keep an eye on him, you, me and Mac.  I can’t imagine we will get through the next few weeks unscathed.”

“As you said before, no way in hell,” Charlie muttered as he pulled his feet off the ledge and leaned over, elbows on his knees.  “Keep an eye on him, especially the self-medicating part.  I know I’m the last person to be talking about someone’s liquor intake but…but,” Charlie trailed off, not wanting to give voice to the horrible thoughts rolling around in his head.

“Consider it done.  I will keep as close an eye on him as he’ll allow,” Lonny assured him. 

“That’s all you can do,” Charlie sighed.

A quick fist bump later and Charlie headed back up to his office.

July 31, 2011

Charlie and Nancy were just about to get in the car after having dinner with friends in the city when his text alert went off.

He pulled it of his pocket and took a quick look while Nancy slid into the car.

It was from Lonny.

_\--not sure what’s going on.  Nobody has seen or heard from Will since last night.  Not answering his phone.  Mac and I are headed over to his place now._

“Shit,” Charlie muttered.

He quickly explained what little he knew to Nancy and sent her on her way home.  He hailed a cab and headed in the direction of Will’s apartment.

_\--unconscious in his bathroom.  GI bleed I think.  NY Presbyterian_

Charlie leaned forward to tell the driver his new destination.

He texted Nancy what he knew and sat back in the seat.  As the lights of the Manhattan night went by he sent up a silent prayer.


	11. The Greater Fool (Charlie/Will)

Charlie stood off to the side as the nurse got Will settled into his room.  He’d managed to convince Mac and Lonny to head home and get some sleep after the endoscopy had been completed and the bleeding brought under control.  The nurse assured the three of them that Will was likely to sleep until the morning, if not longer.

Mac stubbornly tried to stay but Charlie played to her sense of duty and convinced her she needed to get some sleep to be able to take control of things at work in the morning.  She’d already made a call to Jane who was currently on her way up from Washington.  She would get Jane and Jim settled in the morning and come back, probably well before Will was even awake and coherent.

Lonny planned to get some sleep himself before returning to Will’s place to clean up a little.  Will didn’t need to come home in a few days to see blood all over the apartment like some crime scene, not to mention empty liquor bottles and an overflowing ashtray on the coffee table.

Charlie assured them he would keep in touch overnight if anything major happened. 

********

The nurse checked the IV lines and turned down the sound on the monitors.  She went into the bathroom to wet a washcloth to see what she could do about wiping the blood off Will’s face.

“I’ll do that,” Charlie offered as he held out his hand for the cloth.  The nurse handed it to him with a small smile.

“He’ll probably sleep another few hours,” the nurse said as she pulled a pillow and a blanket out of the cabinet for Charlie.  “When he does wake up he will probably be rather miserable.  He can have some water or ice chips if he wants. Hit the button if you need anything. Remote is by the television.  Snacks are down the hall, second door on the left if you need anything.”

“Thanks,” Charlie said with a smile as she turned out the light, leaving the room lit by only the dim light over the bed.

He gently wiped the blood and whatever else off Will’s cheek and chin before settling down.  He pulled the chair up to the bed, picked up Will’s hand and prayed.  The lights of the city blurred from the tears he made no effort to stop.

Eventually the vibrating of his cell phone brought him back to the present and he fished it out of the inside pocket of his coat. 

It was Mac looking for an update.  He responded with a “still asleep, nothing new”.

With a sigh he pushed himself out of the chair and slipped his jacket off, setting it on the counter by the television.  He paced around the room for a few minutes, looked out the window and sent a quick text to Nancy before heading down the hall to check out the snack situation.

Will hadn’t moved in the five minutes he’d been down the hall grabbing a cup of decaf tea and a granola bar.  He put his snack on the bedside table and settled down in the recliner with the television remote and his tea.  Out of sheer habit he turned to ACN and muted the sound.  He carefully kicked off his shoes and let them fall to the floor with a thud, cringing a little at the sound.   But Will didn’t move at all.

********

Charlie woke with a start sometime in the middle of the night.  He was covered with a standard issue while cotton hospital blanket he didn’t remember unfolding.  As he rubbed his eyes a bit he picked his phone up from the bedside table to check the time.  It was a few minutes before 4 in the morning.  A quick glance at the bed led him to correctly assume Will hadn’t really moved much in the last few hours.  He was still flat on his back, snoring softly.  With a little groan Charlie pushed against the footrest so he could get up to use the bathroom.

When he came back out Will was starting to stir.  Charlie pulled the chair up to the bed and put his hand on Will’s shoulder.  Will attempted to open his eyes, it took a handful of tries before he got them to stay open for more than a few seconds.

“Shit,” was all he could muster before his eyes slid closed again.

“Yeah,” Charlie whispered. 

Will pulled his hand out from under the covers and started to reach for something when he quickly realized it was attached to an IV.  He pulled back the covers and noticed the wide array of monitors to which he was also attached.  He took a deep breath and let it out as he scrubbed at his eyes before taking a quick look around the room.  For what, he wasn’t real sure.

“I sent Mac home,” Charlie said in case that’s what Will was looking for.  Will just nodded.  “You want some water?” Charlie asked, motioning towards the pink pitcher on the table.  He got a little nod from Will who was trying to sit up a bit.  “Here, let me help you,” Charlie offered as he reached over Will for the button to put the head of the bed up a little.  He poured a cup of water and carefully handed it to Will who still managed to spill some down the front of his hospital gown.  One small, painful sip later Will handed the cup back before he spilled the rest of it.

“God that hurt,” he whispered, his voice hoarse.

“I would imagine it did.  That’s what bourbon, pills, blood and a camera shoved down there will do to your throat,” Charlie pointed out, much harsher than he had intended.  He instantly regretted his tone and help up his hands in the universal “I’m sorry” gesture.  Will nodded his acceptance of the gesture. “You want a little recap?” Charlie offered.  That gained him another nod.

Will scooted himself up a little on the bed to try and get a little more comfortable.  He took the cup of ice chips Charlie held out for him, figuring that might help put out the fire he currently felt in his throat and chest.

“Take it slow,” Charlie suggested as he turned the chair a little, resting his elbow on the bed.  “So about 10 tonight, or last night, Lonny and Mac decided to take a trip to your place when they couldn’t get in touch with you.  I’m sure your cell phone is full of texts and voicemails from them, by the way.  Found you unconscious on the bathroom floor covered in blood and God knows what else.”

Will just nodded and glanced out the window, trying to decipher from the view what hospital he was currently in.

“New York Presbyterian,” Charlie stated, answering the unasked question. 

“Endoscopy showed a bleeding ulcer.  They were able to control the bleeding for now.  But things need to change, like yesterday,” he said simply.  Charlie thought for a minute about how deep a conversation he really wanted to get into with Will with him drugged, tired and just plain miserable.  A minute later he figured he had a captive audience, it wasn’t like Will was able to walk out on the conversation.  “You want to start?” Charlie asked.

“I fucked up,” Will whispered, keeping his reply as vague as possible, unsure of what exactly the doctor had discovered and what had gotten passed on to Charlie.

“On purpose?” Charlie asked, keeping his response as equally vague.

“The pills?” Will whispered.  Charlie just nodded.  “Wasn’t like I swallowed a handful of them,” he said with a small snort.

“No, it’s not.  But that’s not exactly the fucking point is it?” Charlie said with raised eyebrows.  Will just shook his head.

“Why didn’t you say something?  Why did you let things get to this point?  You have people who love you, who could have helped you,” Charlie said quietly.  He got the fully expected shrug of Will’s shoulders.  “Is this all because of that hatchet job Brian wrote?”

Will stalled by taking a mouthful of ice chips, which promptly started a coughing fit.  Charlie hit the button to raise the head of the bed with one hand and took the cup of ice from Will with the other.

Unfortunately for Will the coughing quickly looked like it was heading for more and Charlie hit the button for the nurse as he shoved the plastic basin into Will’s lap.

The nurse arrived as the coughing turned to retching. Charlie moved to stand at the head of the bed, one hand on Will’s back as Will leaned over the pink plastic basin.

Fifteen minutes later Will had calmed down enough to sit up, rinse his mouth and take a few deep breaths.  The nurse offered him something to help him go back to sleep but he declined with a shake of his head.  Charlie was about to say something when he took a good look at Will.  It became clear that Will wanted to remain awake long enough to actually talk.

“Okay, but hit the button if you change your mind,” the nurse said as she checked his vitals one last time before leaving the two men alone to talk.

“You okay?” Charlie asked as he pulled the chair back up to the bed. 

“I guess,” Will muttered and he pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes.

“Was this about Brian?” Charlie asked again.

“Brian, Don Quixote, Camelot, other assorted bullshit,” Will whispered.

Charlie just gave him a questioning look and motioned for him to explain.

“The piece was supposed to be Camelot and it ended up to be fucking Don Quixote.  The kid at the end of Camelot, that’s what it was supposed to be.  Instead it was the mirror.”

Charlie nodded, quickly putting together the references despite the fact he’d been awake for almost 24 hours.

“Was it planned?” Charlie asked.

“The pills?’ Will guessed.

“Yeah.”

“No, it was stupid and I knew I was crossing the line of safety but it wasn’t something I’d spent two weeks planning.  Like I said, wasn’t a handful at one time.  It was too many over a few days.  Along with too much bourbon and too little food.”

“Have you talked to Dr. Habib since the piece came out?”  Will just shook his head.  “Not the best idea,” Charlie pointed out as he leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I know.  I’ll call when I get out,” Will promised.

“Yeah, I’m sure you’ll be seeing him, or someone else from the department of psychiatry in the next day or so,” Charlie said with a barely concealed smirk.

“Fuck,” Will muttered.

“Exactly.  So how about you try to get some sleep,” Charlie suggested.

Will just shrugged his shoulders. He was obviously exhausted but he didn’t think sleep would come easily.  “What does Mac know?”

“She knows you take antidepressants and that you took too many, washed down with too much bourbon.”

“Was she pissed?”

“Upset at the whole thing.   I think mad at herself for not noticing the warning signs.  Annoyed that she didn’t know about the pills in the first place,” Charlie explained.  “But most of all scared,” he added quietly.

Will nodded and scrubbed at his eyes.  “I take it she wasn’t the only one I scared.”

“Not by a long shot,” Charlie admitted.  “You scared the shit out of me.  I got a text saying you’re unconscious in a pool of blood.  Thank God I was already in the city. I don’t know how I would have survived a trip from home.”

“I’m sorry,” Will said as he turned to his to avoid looking at his boss.  His vision blurred and he gave up on trying to stop the tears.

Charlie reached for a handful of tissues, making sure to save a few for himself.  Will took them gratefully and wiped his face before he curled up on the bed facing the window.  Charlie carefully pulled the covers up over him, gently resting his hand on Will’s shoulder for a second.  Will patted his hand without a word. 

“You want me to go?” Charlie asked, suddenly not sure what to do.

“It’s almost dawn, sit your ass back in the recliner and get some sleep,” Will muttered over his shoulder.

Charlie chuckled and leaned over to press a kiss to Will’s forehead.  “William Duncan McAvoy, scare me like that again and I’ll beat the shit out of you. And that’s a promise.”

“Yes, boss.”

Ten minutes later when the nurse came to check on Will, she found both of them sound asleep.  She tossed the blanket over Charlie and checked Will’s IV line and monitors before leaving them to get some much needed rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this ends season 1. Thanks to everyone who has stuck it out so far. Your kudos and comments are greatly appreciated.
> 
> I've had a great time writing this so far. Some chapters flowed out quite easily and some just caused me fits. One of the hardest things I've found is to use Charlie's rather "colorful" language as I try not to speak like that on a daily basis!! But working on a psychiatric unit I certainly hear it all day long (from my patients and my fellow staff members!)
> 
> I think I will be taking a break from this and work on a few ideas I have for the next story in the "Lights Will Guide You Home" series.
> 
> Thanks again.


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